Developing society is a duty for everyone, not necessarily the exclusive preserve of those in government or position of leadership. Everyone can contribute to society’s progress via different outlets and in different spheres of life including religious institutions. That is the dominant lesson in the story of a rare feat by members of the Busy Bee Society of Ebenezer Baptist Church Lagos who set out on an odyssey and in the end handed over an N40m project, comprising a library, laboratory and borehole for dedication on October 7, 2021.
Generally, the Busy Bee, an organisation within the Baptist Church, works to advance the progress of the Church and the society at large. The branch at Ebenezer Baptist Lagos was determined to live up to its duties to church and society. Its members were therefore motivated to go the extra mile, to undertake a project that took them 10 years to complete, but whose impact is far-reaching in society.
The effort started at the inauguration of Elder (Mrs) Comfort Oluranti Adepoju as the fourth President of the Society. Adepoju, who at the time was working in Warri, Delta State as Head of Public Affairs in NGC, an organ of the NNPC, had sold her vision to the 14 other members and collectively they took upon themselves the undaunted task of building from scratch a science laboratory and library for the Ebenezer Baptist Academy Oshorun, Ibeshe, Lagos.
The inspiration for their choice of project was derived from the feat of President Olusegun Obasanjo, himself a member of the Baptist Church who at about that time launched the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library in Abeokuta, an initiative supported by many good-spirited individuals with generous donations.
Unfortunately, the Busy Bee Society did not have the political clout of the President to attract such goodwill from society’s upper crust. Hence, the launch of their project on December 4, 2011, was disappointing to say the least, despite inviting important personalities within the church and eminent philanthropists in society. What the flamboyant project launch yielded was a far cry from the required N40 million. So demoralising were the members of the Society that some of them mooted the idea of jettisoning the proposed project.
But they shored up their faith and resolved to continue with the project. To raise funds, they resorted to taxing themselves, and also their patrons, advisers, including those occupying the position of Father Bee, Mother Bee and Queen Bee. That way, they were able to augment the donations from the project launch.
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In retrospect, it can be argued that the society, perhaps, could have chosen a less expensive project. But in defending their choice, Adegoke avowed that they took on a project that would have maximum impact. Therefore, an educational project, namely a library, was the right choice.
“The science laboratory was included because of my wonderful experience as a student of a catholic school, Our Lady’s High School, where I benefited from quality education and qualitative science laboratory making me what I am today,” she had justified.
Every stage of the project―foundation, German floor, decking, roofing, tiling etc―was challenging due to insufficient funds. The situation was so undaunted that, again, some members of the Society mooted the idea of handing over the uncompleted project to the Church to complete it. Eventually, Adepoju and her colleagues had to use their personal funds to furnish and equip the library and laboratory. However, not every member of the Busy Bee Society got to that finishing line. Of the original 15 members who started the project, only nine completed it.
The story of what they passed through, the sacrifice they made to bring the project to fruition, remains untold, but the beneficiary community appreciated the effort of the Busy Bee Society.
And so, on October 7, 2021―ten years after the launch, and nine years after they turned the sod―the project was completed and handed over to the Church, the community, in a dedication ceremony. The library was rightly named after Rev Adebowale Adegunwa.
The community, stunned by the achievement of these women of faith, expressed their unequivocally gratitude and appreciation for the outstanding feat, which has no equivalence by a male group in the church.
